‘CUBAN SUNDAYS’ at Juju’s in London has announced a new monthly live music series, featuring a Cuban guest singer to perfrom with house band Orquesta Sambroso.
“For lovers of timba and live music, this evening felt like a big deal: London now has its own world-class timba orchestra.”(Songlines)
SAMBROSO SAMBROSO and Juju’s Bar & Stage in east London are delighted to present the Cuban Sundays Live Music Series: seven shows each featuring a big-name Cuban singer performing their timba/salsa moderna hits with Orquesta Sambroso, a new orchestra of London-based Cuban virtuosos.
“The Latin dance community in London has been craving live music,” says GRAMMY-winning percussionist Hammadi Rencurrell Valdés, the project’s musical director. “Now we have a space where London’s top Cuban musicians get to play the music we actually listen to, and people will hear the songs performed live.”
Cuban Sundays at Juju’s Bar & Stage is London’s premier hub for dancing to DJ-ed Cuban salsa. That is, to modern Cuban salsa or timba, the joyously aggressive fusion music with its roots in styles including funk, reggaeton, Cuban son and Afro-Cuban rumba. Following a successful November soft launch with Mixael Cabrera, Cuban Sundays Live Music Series unveils a programme of events, held on the last Sunday of each month from January until July 2025.
In January, we welcome Latin music innovator Angel Yos, the Paris-based Cuban vocalist celebrated for his explosive energy and hits with La Mecánica Loca and Vamos Hacerlo. With a reputation for blending traditional Cuban rhythms with modern flair, Angel Yos is a true innovator in the Latin music scene.
LISTEN TO ANGEL YOS top track La Crema de la Crema on Spotify
In February, singer/guitarist Alcibiades Durruthy López. March brings Dayan Carrera Fernández. April welcomes Laraine Cañizares, frontwoman of Klímax. In May, Teddy Fuentes of Bumbata. In June and July, two yet-to-be-announced superstars, each famous enough to spark a riot.
“Timba music needs at least ten musicians to work so isn’t played in the UK,” says Oreste ‘Sambroso’ Noda, the face of SAMBROSO SAMBROSO and a go-to conguero for Jazz Jamaica, Ska Cubano, Lokkhi Terra and more. “Juju’s crowd love timba music so we’ve brought the timba to them.
Outside of Cuba, most world-class timba musicians live in London, while most big-name Cuban timba singers reside in Europe. For SAMBROSO SAMBROSO, working alongside Turns Projects, the solution seemed obvious – to create a remarkable timba big band that connected these London-based maestros with Europe-based Cuban cantors. Orquesta Sambroso duly features a who’s who of London-based Cuban (and Cuban-adjacent) musicians: bassist Frank Portuondo, conguero Oscar Martinez, flautist Ludys Hernández. Horns, more percussion, two sets of keyboards. Nearly all the Cuban members are products of Cuba’s music education system, which offers free access to conservatoires and extracurricular activities that turn students into skilled professionals.
Cuban Sundays Live Music Series marks the start of a new Cuban music wave. “London is the international capital of music,” says Valdés “and it’s from London that we are unleashing Cuban timba on the world.”
Cuban Sundays Live Music Series is the last Sunday of each month from 26 January 2025 at Juju’s Bar & Stage, Ely’s Yard, 15 Hanbury St, London E1 6QR
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